Why do you sail?

[jdaltonpe]

You must live in the moment when sailing - weather it be in pure bliss or inescapable terror - guaranteed to feel alive either way.

[seasick]

Because it’s usually too far to motor.

Not to escape life but to keep life from escaping me.

[conchaway]

I sail to tell the water gods (with apologies to William Shakespeare): "Defiance, death, hurl we in your teeth!"

[john o connor]

I sail for many reasons , a change to get off the land , the wind in face , the motion of the boat , new places to see , and the social side .

[motion]

Because its there

[sailon46]

Among all the other answers to this question, I guess I needed an avocation that gave me plentiful satisfaction of accomplishing such a great endeavor as harnessing the energy of the wind in the ever changing blue aquatic wander out there.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[emcmia]

I become homesick for the places I

[emcmia]

Originally Posted by emcmia

I become homesick for the places I

oops.....try this again:
I become homesick for the places I've never been to.

[fSymo]

I've been a boat owner for a few months now, and am on my way south. The reason I wanted to, was to be free, to learn, to experience, to challenge myself. Boy, did I get that in spades.

I've been journeying south from NJ for the past 12 days now. I've motored mostly, busted a jib, and now am dealing with a bad fuel tank and am currently moored up in a shipyard to fix it (myself, mostly). The journey has been cold, I wasn't fully prepared to deal with all of this, I'm still trying to get the little things I sorely need, but I have tested myself. Learned. Experienced. Grown. And have loved every minute of the cold nights, conquering new fears, testing my limits. The boat doesn't care. The weather doesn't care. But I'd be lying if I said that every single moment of this journey wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever done.

As I motored down the Chesapeake in 30-40 knot winds and some scary waters, I experienced just about every emotion. Fear, joy, courage, elation, doubt... but never regret. This new and amazing journey has been the highest form of enlightenment. I'm not sure I had even really enjoyed these emotions as I have until now. It's indescribable. And when I get off the boat to get supplies and share my tales with strangers I've never met, I am just as happy to share the tales as they are (maybe) enraptured to hear them. Maybe not those sailors who have done this, but the people that wish they were me... or any one of us. It's a level of freedom that nobody else can capture or even envision for themselves, mostly.

Why do I sail? The question I ask myself now is, why didn't I sail 30 years ago.

No regrets. Sailing is magic. That's why I'm sailing now, and I don't see me stopping any time soon.

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I think many sail because they are getting high without realizing it.

The high is from the sun.

This also happens to folks that garden, cycle or run long distances, and various others that get outdoors for hours on end when the sun is out; hikers, mountain climbers, kayakers, etc

For some, the sailing part can get quite boring and slow but the high, at least on sunny days, is always there

Try Australia then !!! You should take of like a rocket.... and get really high.

[chuckr]

Took up sailing at age 55 bought boat at 58 - at 62 cut dock lines and for past 10 years have been underway - all the carib, 2 handed pond crossing, most of the med, all the black sea - WHY? - set out initially to see the other side of the horizon on the way to Bahamas - then it got out of hand


I guess it is like when I took up climbing at age 40 or so and made 18k and last big climb was rainer on a 3 man climb - gave that up because I could not keep in the physical condition to climb at that level so I quit


After sailing what? I have no idea but I do know it will not be a chair on the front porch
as for sailing - how many horizons have we chased, thousands of miles, hundreds if not more ports of call, and the people - oh my gosh the people -
by the way as sailors we are not very good and probably 80% of you are much better sailors than we are BUT we do one thing most of you will never do - WE CUT THE DOCK LINES AND LEFT - NO REGRETS

[Perfusser]

I first sailed when I was 10- and loved being in total control of my destiny, in control with no one to answer to. Sailing was a place of safety and escape as well. Now I race- because i love the exhilaration, the technical details and the physical effort involved. But it is still an escape from the maddening world, the hustle and bustle involved in making a living.
my boat is my Assylum- a refuge and place of safety from everything else "out there".

[valhalla360]

Could you clarify the question:
- Why do you sail?
vs
- Why do you cruise?

The last two boats came with really excellent antenna support systems and if the wind is out of the correct direction, you can hang some sheets on it and it will blow you in the right direction. If it isn't blowing in the right direction, just crank up the motor and continue on your way.

As far as cruising, it allows us to see parts of the world, we couldn't otherwise see and do so from the comfort of our home.

[Attikos]

Sailing is adventure. It's worship of God in nature. It's challenge, self-reliance, accomplishment. It's freedom, though admittedly less so each year as regulation and enforcement progress.

In my case in particular, it also is privacy. I'm a free lance writer, and when out sailing no one can find me to interrupt my work. It would be worth it for that alone.

[crankysailor]

Well.. I don’t know actually. It is just a pull coming from the ocean. You just want to go. Then I get often scared (and not just of the ocean but our finances, etc) , but when it is over, you just want to go again.